


Next To Your Heartbeat Where I Should Be

by nobetterlove



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Photographer, Arc Reactor Angst, M/M, Photographer Peter Parker, Protective Peter Parker, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Still Has Arc Reactor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:00:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25117273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobetterlove/pseuds/nobetterlove
Summary: Peter Parker is an erotic photographer and meets Tony Stark by chance. After hitting it off during a shoot in which Peter gets to nerd out over the Iron Man suit, Tony asks him out. What ensues is confidence building in the way of being loved well and photographer by a professional.Or: the one where Peter is bound and determined to prove to Tony just how beautiful his arc reactor actual is.
Relationships: Peter Parker/Tony Stark
Comments: 7
Kudos: 165





	Next To Your Heartbeat Where I Should Be

**Author's Note:**

> I got this idea from a moodboard over on Tumblr! I saw it and immediately felt inspired. 
> 
> There's a bit of Tony angst, because why not - I hope you guys enjoy!

Meeting Tony Stark ended up being a total coincidence.

Peter didn’t plan on being in the Stark Industries lobby – he really didn’t.

Walking home from a session, Peter let his camera bag dangle from his shoulder for a second so he could rearrange the straps to have it more secure against him. In that second, someone swooped in and yanked it from his hand. Any other time, Peter would have written it off as a lost cause – but the thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment and the session’s memory card were worth too much to just ignore.

Luckily, Peter ran in a couple of track state championships in high school – so the rundown wasn’t that much of an issue. When it started to become a thing was when the guy running ran through spinning doors. It didn’t occur to him to shout out and ask for help – there were too many things running through his head to actually think rationally. Instead, he ran the guy down until they were at the elevator bay without anywhere to go.

The door of the final elevator opened with a ping and the guy took off, his eyes wide in fear as he attempted to pass Peter. Reaching a hand out, Peter managed to grab his arm and yank, the momentum of the move enough to keep the thief from getting any further away from him. A resounding smack of the guy’s back hitting the floor stopped the people around them. Panting, Peter kept a tight grip on the man with one hand and grabbed his camera bag with the other.

Before anything else could happen, a big man and someone that was recognizably Tony Stark stood in front of them – they just stepped off the elevator and saw the whole exchange.

It didn’t take a genius to recognize Tony Stark from the many, many, many public appearances and media stories. A lot of his pre-Iron Man stuff with Stark Industries was when Peter was in high school and trying to figure out what his life meant. His real interest in Tony Stark as a person didn’t come until the Iron Man suit started to make waves. By then, he was in college and quickly refining both his personal tastes and interests. Older men with goatees and dark piercing eyes were totally on that narrowed down list.

With him standing in front of him now, Peter realized that Tony Stark was the world’s hottest man for a couple years in a row every few years for a reason. The shape of his facial hair was meticulous and obviously done by a professional. It highlighted his cheekbones and when he crinkled his nose with a smile, Peter saw the dramatic scrunch of his skin and shine of his molten chocolate eyes. Lost in his staring, Peter didn’t realize Tony Stark was talking to him until the other man with him reached out and gripped his elbow.

“Hey, what’s happening here?”

Looking between them, Peter finally registered the fact that his fingers were balled in a random stranger’s shirt and he was clutching his own bag tightly. “This guy took off with my camera bag a couple blocks ago. I started running after him and ended up in your lobby. Which I’m very sorry about – I didn’t know where we were until about ten seconds ago,” Peter finally said, his eyes still trained on Tony Stark in front of him. He could see the slightest glow of the arc reactor through the buttons of the older man’s expensive shirt.

Sort of like a dream, Peter watched Tony Stark open his mouth and talk in his direction. “I saw the take down – that was pretty impressive. Quick reflexes,” Tony remarked, his eyes flashing in Peter’s direction. “You want to press charges against this guy?” His arm shot out then, fingers pointing in his attempted hijacker’s direction.

Peter shook his head, his fingers already starting to loosen, the thief’s shirt slipping from his grip. “No, no. I just needed to get my camera equipment back. I’d never be able to replace it,” Peter admitted, his cheeks flushing. In front of Tony Stark, Peter wanted to feel strong – not meek and incapacitated by the limitations of his monetary restrictions. It took him several years to build the collection he had – in a lot of ways, the equipment was as much a part of the work as the shooting itself.

Tony stared at him for a second, then nodded swiftly. “Sounds okay to me. Why don’t you let the miscreant go and walk with me? I think I might have a proposition for you.” He smirked and raised an eyebrow, rich brown eyes looking down at his hand, then back up to his eyes again. Without thought, Peter dropped his robber to the ground and started to walk forward – he didn’t even register when the guy got up and brushed past him with a swift ‘fuck you’ thrown his way.

As it turned out, Tony was interested in a photoshoot. The Iron Man suit got a few upgrades after the battle in New York and Tony wanted to show them off. In all of his years of slinging photos for work, Peter never got the opportunity to do something so cool. Despite getting to see naked flesh and intimate poses on a constant basis, Peter wasn’t nearly as excited for the usual as he was for 1 on 1 time with the Iron Man suit.

In the days leading up to it, Peter did a lot of research on the suit itself. When he asked for a breakdown by Tony, the older man didn’t hesitate to go into great detail about each of the pieces and the process in which he went about getting it on. The promise of getting to see the whole thing made the apprehension even more exciting. It felt like a once in a lifetime chance and Peter was more than ready to take it.

If he thought that the Stark Industries building was something, it was nothing compared to the luxury of Stark Tower. They existed within 5 miles of each other and embodied the same type of energy – yet, Peter could see the care and attention that was incorporated into every detail of it; his artistic eye latching onto each of them the further he got into the building.

The man that stood as a third wheel for their conversation the week before met him at the front desk, a look of recognition in his eyes. “Peter Parker, right? I’m Happy. Tony told me to get you cleared through security and make sure you get onto the right elevator,” the man, Happy, said to him, the slightest trace of a happy look overtaking his cheeks.

Peter didn’t hesitate to nod and hand over his ID when Happy asked him for it – they made idle chit chat while a badge was made and then swiped and finally handed over to him. Pocketing his ID and slinging the brand-new badge with his name and clearance on it, Peter followed Happy’s swift steps passed a long row of elevators and down the hall, the small door they stopped in front of dark and sleek, just like everything else in the building.

When it opened up into another elevator, Peter let out an audible gasp, his reaction pulling a genuine chuckle from Happy’s lips. “Just wait, kid. It only gets better,” Happy stated, his big chest pushing into the door to stop it from closing. He fiddled with a code and then pressed the big flashing PH button. “It takes a couple of minutes to ride up there, so don’t freak out. Enjoy yourself, Peter Parker.” With a wink, Happy removed himself and let the doors close.

Gripping the strap of his bag, Peter relaxed back against the elevator wall and enjoyed watching the site of New York passing by him on his way up. He understood how grandiose the building was when the doors finally opened, and he was met with a wide-open space that was surrounded by the same windows making up the rest of the building. In the later parts of the evening, the view was probably magical.

His steps carried him over towards it, the draw of beauty something Peter hadn’t ever been able to stop. Much like the owner, the space around him was absolutely stunning. Peter didn’t make it very far, however – a voice out of nowhere stopped him right in his tracks. “Hello, Peter Parker. Mr. Stark is on his way up.”

He tried not to bodily startle, but a gasp fell from his lips, anyway. “Holy shit – are you the AI system for the Iron Man suit?” Peter asked before he could stop himself, his nerdiness rushing from him without much thought. Before he went into photography, Peter spent many years thinking he was going to go into Mechanical Engineering. The siren song of still frame pulled him in, but he never quite got over his interest in all things technology.

“I am, sir. Mr. Stark calls me JARVIS. I maintain most of the operations of the suit and both this building and Stark Industries. I serve many purposes.” JARVIS answered him clearly and without hesitation – the conversation style as close to human as possible. It shot a tingle down his spine, the complexity of the entire system.

Before Peter could answer any more questions, Tony Stark walked into the room, a smile on his face. “I see you’ve met JARVIS,” Tony said, his laidback look totally different than the suited-up style he saw a few days prior. “He doesn’t give himself enough credit, either. I would be nowhere without you, buddy.” Tony looked up and grinned when a swift ‘thank you, sir’ came in reply.

Tony shifted his attention back to Peter, his eyes landing on the camera bag hanging from his shoulders. “Glad to see all the equipment made it. Let me show you the lab so you can set up and decide where you might want to start.” He shot a smile in Peter’s direction, his relaxed posture so attractive and a little distracting.

Peter cleared his throat a nodded, his feet carrying him across the immaculate floor, his Chuck Taylors squeaking on him as they did. His eyes stayed wide as Tony led him deeper into the living space, the gorgeousness of the architecture and design apparent, even in the places that weren’t lit up and ready for display. They took a short set of stairs down into another open space, this one completely equipped with every expensive toy and tool needed to run a successful technology business and kick ass on the side.

His jaw didn’t drop to the floor like he figured it would, but it was a close thing. Peter shared a knowing look with Tony, a sharp flush rushing over his skin at the recognition in those beautifully dark-brown eyes. He ducked his head in an attempt to hide his smile and set about getting the extra lighting he needed to make the pictures that much better – though, he wouldn’t need much; Tony Stark knew how to design a building for both efficiency and aesthetic.

It didn’t take long for Peter to get everything ready – he turned around to find Tony Stark watching him, an unreadable expression on his face. Peter shot him a smile, the excitement of being in a space filled with unexplainable things made it easy to be open about his happiness. “I think I’m just about ready. It would be cool to catch the whole process of the suit assembling and then go from there.”

As it turned out, Tony was the perfect model. Which made sense – his face made it on all of the major magazines and newspapers on a pretty constant basis. It seemed, however, that Tony loosened up even more when the suit started to cover him – the anonymity of being behind the faceplate obviously much more comforting. Peter took everything in stride and played into the energy that Tony Stark as Iron Man brought to the table.

Stopping to change camera batteries, Peter sat down in front of his computer and scrolled through the images with a huge smile on his face. This shoot was such a far stretch from what he usually did, he felt more than excited about the RAW results sitting in front of him. Tony must’ve noticed because he came over too, the suit now sitting idle a few feet from them.

“You’re pretty talented, Pete. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more comfortable in front of the camera,” Tony admitted, his hands slipping into his pockets as he spoke. The thin long sleeve shirt he was wearing showed off the arc reactor beneath it, the blue hue drawing Peter’s eyes. He wondered what it looked like against that palette of Tony’s skin.

Eyes wide, Peter forced himself to banish the thought, his eyes roaming back up to meet Tony’s, instead. “This isn’t my usual bag. It’s pretty imperative that I make my clients feel comfortable in my normal setting,” Peter replied swiftly. The entire reason he got into intimate photography was because of his ability to soothe people and make them feel comfortable. It was half of the art – getting the candid nature of a person demanded some sense of security.

Tony quirked a brow, his hands shifting from his pockets to cross in front of his chest, instead. He moved his feet, then looked more fully in Peter’s direction, curiousness in his gaze. “You’re not a portrait photographer? You could have fooled me.”

The words were warm when they settled in the middle of his stomach. There was something about Tony Stark complimenting his work that made all of his effort seem a little more worth it. Ducking his head in guise of checking the back of the camera, Peter forced back the beaming smile. “I usually shot intimate and erotic portraiture, actually. I was coming from a Playboy shoot the day I stumbled into Stark Industries.”

Watching surprise and then exhilaration, and then interest flash across Tony’s face pulled a laugh from him before he could stop it. There was a distinct red on the other man’s cheeks when they made eye contact again. “I would have never guessed. Those bright eyes of yours are deceiving – you just shout innocence,” Tony muttered, his shoulders shrugging.

Peter laughed again, the truth in Tony’s words not escaping him. It wasn’t the first time he’d been told about his look, about the way it made people think about him. “You’d be surprised,” Peter said, his voice dropping a couple of octaves. The air shifted in that instant, the tangibility of it felt by both of the men in the room.

Drawing his bottom lip between his teeth, Peter stood up from his stool, his eye shifting over towards the suit. “Ready to finish up?”

Completely satisfied by his take, Peter snapped his last shot and stood up, a feeling of success rushing through him. “That’s a wrap for me, Mr. Stark,” Peter told him when Tony looked at him in question. “I got way more than enough.”

Tony shot him a grin, a look of gratitude slipping across his face. “Glad to hear it. That was surprisingly fun.” He stepped back from the suit, the technology of it something Peter couldn’t wait to marvel over.

“It was – I have been drooling over that suit since the first time I saw it in the papers. This is kind of a dream come true.” He hadn’t meant to gush, but it fell from his lips, nonetheless. Gulping in a breath, he shot Tony a sheepish smile.

“I can’t wait to see how good you make it look. Thanks again for fitting me in so soon – Pep is on my ass about publicity shit. It’ll be nice to check that off the list.” Tony ran a hand through his hair as he spoke, the motion once again distracting Peter. His fingers were long, and the hue of his skin juxtaposed the darkness exotically.

When Peter made himself look away, he was immediately aware of the look on Tony’s face – the tech genius knew he’d been staring. Peter was totally caught out. Blushing, he dropped his eyes and went to start packing up.

“It’s alright. I don’t mind,” Tony said, his voice stopping Peter in his tracks. “Most people look at me. It kind of feels like you see me, though. At least, no one has ever taken me in quite the way you just were – and have been… all afternoon.” He took a couple of steps to shorten the distance between them considerably.

“Mr Stark, I – “ Peter babbled, his throat suddenly dry. He didn’t get very far. Tony cut in almost immediately.

“Tony. I’m Tony. And don’t even try to apologize. I’m not offended or mad. You’re adorable and have the prettiest smile. I bet there’s a ton behind those eyes of yours.” He stopped then, a genuine look overtaking his face. “I think I might like finding out.”

\----

It felt like a whirlwind – getting to know Tony Stark outside of the persona and the Iron Man suit. Peter felt weak in the knees when Tony asked him to dinner after their shoot and even more taken back when they parted for the night with a promise of more to come. Tony took him by surprise and completely recreated some of thoughts and visions Peter had for his life with relative ease. He never thought another person would come into his life with such a distinct bang, but it was Tony Stark – what else could he really expect?

The most astonishing aspect of it all was how slow things went between them. They spent lots of time together – adventures in Tony’s lab, dinners, and the occasional game night at Peter’s house allowed them to gain a comfortable closeness. It felt like falling slowly – learning everything there was to know about Tony Stark. Without the overt physicality to distract him, Peter found himself desperate to know more.

And when they did start to make things physical between them, Tony shocked him with his reverence and shyness. The first time Tony tugged him up from the couch and led him into the bedroom, Peter felt the slightest of tremors in the man’s touch, a recognizable cloud of apprehension sitting at the surface. Like most things with Tony, Peter should have known better than to ever assume.

Eventually, Peter felt Tony blossom and relax into the comfortability of physical intimacy. By no means was Tony adverse to sex – in fact, he constantly blew Peter away with the passion he approached it with. Tony studied Peter’s body like it was life-saving information – he used his knowledge to pull pleasure from him with creativity and the thoroughness of a well-read scholar. It seemed like Tony struggled with the thought of letting go himself – the action totally understandable after everything he’d been through.

Peter felt lucky just to be a part of it, so he took and gave and enjoyed as much as he could. When Tony put down a hard limit, Peter listened. The one time it happened, Peter felt the grip of Tony’s hand on his wrist as he fingers started to trace the skin around the arc reactor, the feeling of it soft to the touch. Peter withdrew his hand immediately, his face coloring. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t think,” Peter whispered, what he hoped was remorse in his voice.

“It’s okay,” Tony said softly, his grip loosening. He brought Peter’s arm up to his mouth, his lips pressing against the pulse point on his wrist. “I just – it’s not my favorite thing about myself. How foreign it is has never sat quite right with me.” He nuzzled his nose into Peter’s hair then, his shoulders shrugging a little.

“I didn’t even think of that. It catches my eye, I can’t lie. It’s beautiful – how it keeps you alive, the thrum of it. I get you, though,” Peter replied, his head settling a little more heavily against Tony’s chest. “All of you is gorgeous, Tony Stark. I’ll make you see it, one day.”

And though he respected how Tony felt, a sort of determination settled within him. As an artist, his goal was to enhance the inner and outer beauty of the person in front of his camera. His eye always strayed towards the candid nature of the human spirit – from firsthand experience, Peter knew how colorful Tony’s soul truly was. He knew the perfect way to pull the insecurities from Tony and show him the other side of the coin. Peter made a living doing exactly that.

Of course, he didn’t dive right into the idea – like the subjects in his photos, his presentation of the concept needed to seem natural.

Besides, he appreciated the work it took to ease Tony into the idea. Peter found little ways to compliment Tony when the man least expected it. The little smile that played across his lips every time made the juice worth the squeeze in and of itself. Little by little, Peter felt Tony easing into the display of his body before him – his shirtless chest, especially.

In their times of intimacy, Peter paid special attention to the map of skin across Tony’s pecs and down and around his stomach. For being almost 20 years his senior, Tony’s body did not show an ounce of his age. The ripple of his abdominals never ceased to entice him – the power there more than enough to render Peter speechless when in the throes of a ruthless fucking. For what it was worth, Peter allowed his own enjoyment to color Tony’s opinion of himself.

Which ended up working nicely, because Tony brought up the idea of an intimate’s session before Peter managed to beat around the bush and end up there. They were sitting at Tony’s kitchen eating breakfast when Tony ran his foot up Peter’s shin to catch his attention. “Have you ever thought about doing one of your erotic sessions with me?”

The question had him choking on the coffee in his mouth, his eye bulging. Peter was quick to swallow and clear his throat – he might be coughing up coffee for the rest of the day, but it didn’t matter; all of his dreams were coming true. “Every day since before we met,” Peter replied easily.

Tony flushed, the man very suddenly in Peter’s space the next instant. His lips grazed Peter’s once, twice, three times before pulling back, a shit eating grin on his face. “You’re so goddamn cute.” He shook his head and settled back into his seat, a couple of fingers tracing over his lips. “I think I might like it. The penthouse is practically made for this sort of thing.”

If Tony was surprised that Peter insisted they shoot the very next morning, he didn’t show it. They shared a soft kiss and Peter went off on a bunch of ideas that were suddenly coursing through his mind. When he said he thought about it, he wasn’t kidding – there were specific images he could clearly picture that he was more than excited to make come to life.

\----

The next morning, Peter started in the bedroom with the softest sneak attack – his hand ran down the naked length of Tony’s back, the skin prickling in its wake. Tony was stretched out on his stomach, one hand tucked under his pillow, the other curled in front of him. As Tony turned his head in Peter’s direction, his finger pressed down on the trigger, snapping shot after shot of the soft look on his face and smoothness of his skin. Noticing what he was doing, Tony let a sleepy smile slip across his face. He didn’t need to look at the back of the camera to know how gorgeous those particular snaps were.

Coaxing him out from under the sheets, Peter instructed Tony across the puffy white comforter – Tony’s tan skin a gorgeous contrast to it. Straddling his hips, Peter started to snap again – his hand slipping down every now and again to run across the plane of Tony’s abs. The man raised his arms and gave him sly little looks under the muscle there – Tony’s natural affinity for drawing attention so on par for still image; each teasing look made for a perfect snapshot of him.

He got up and let Tony work the span of the bed, every now and again calling a different prompt to get him to stretch out a different way or reposition one of the gorgeous limbs on display. It took him a lot of willpower to keep his mind from wandering to the finer points of Tony’s beauty – his brain needing to stay in the creative process, not the carnal one it every now and again wanted to stray towards. 

They took the stairs down to the workshop not long after that, Peter doing his best not to touch while they walked – Tony, in short, black boxer briefs, donned a black silk robe that did little to cover him when it was open the way it was. In order to stay focused, he let himself take up some of Tony’s personal space while he went through the next couple of poses. The proximity almost cured the need to touch.

Without making much of an overt deal about it, Peter spent a good bit of his shooting time focusing on the arc reactor in the middle of Tony’s chest – how it shone on his skin, the subtle blue of it – even the skin around it. Knowing the discomfort when it came to it, it seemed essential to handle the shots with care so that when he presented the images to Tony, they highlighted the good things about the arc reactor – not the things that made his lover self-conscious in the first place.

There was a bit of satisfaction in having Tony get rid of the robe and lean against some of the various workspaces he saw his boyfriend work diligently at many times before. His bareness gave the place a new meaning – Tony’s natural habitat seen in a totally different light.

A boyhood fantasy was achieved when his lover insisted on using the car he was restoring before heading back upstairs to finish up in the balcony pool. For the first time in his entire career, Peter couldn’t control the erection that pressed against the soft fabric of his shorts.

To finish up the whirlwind of a morning, Tony took a dip in the midmorning light – the shine of the sun on tanned skin was delightful and without a doubt going to look amazing in the images Peter couldn’t wait to get his hands on. The enjoyment he could feel from Tony brought a different element to it all and made the impatience of putting the images together even more pressing.

Though, Peter was able to forget that totally when Tony got out of the pool and stalked towards him – a fire in his eye that was recognizable – he spent the last few months enjoying all of the fruits of that particular look. Thinking quickly, Peter dumped his camera on one of the tables to free his hands; Tony deposited himself into them a moment later.

Wet hands framed his face and pulled until Peter met Tony halfway for a searing kiss – the salty taste on his lips from the pool water making him smile. “I’ve been wanting to do that since I woke up to your camera clicking. The look you’re giving me makes me feel some kind of way,” Tony muttered, his eyes hazy when they finally pulled away.

Peter let himself laugh, his multi-faceted excitement so big, he couldn’t possible contain it. “I’m never going to forget this,” Peter said – “you’re so sexy and providing proof of that was a total pleasure.” He nuzzled into Tony a little further, their kisses turning a touch more desperate.

The journey from the balcony pool back to the bedroom was wet and filled with sloppy kisses and gentle pushes against the wall. At one point, Peter thought Tony might turn him against the wall and take him right there, but he just liked to tease and wanted to take him apart the same way Peter did to him – a fair trade if there ever was one. Finally, they broke ground on the bedroom, a sigh of relief leaving both of their lips.

For probably the first time ever, Tony pushed Peter away when he went to take the wet underwear off of wet skin. He took a step back and created some space between them, then met Peter’s eye. Those long fingers that were so good at producing so many things, ran down the length of Tony’s neck, then down his chest directly over the arc reactor, until they stopped the waistband of his pants. Instead of delving under the wet fabric, Tony grabbed his quickly hardening erection – the moan the fell from his lips the most tantalizing thing yet.

Understanding what the moment meant, Peter didn’t move a muscle – the only right thing to do was sit back and watch whatever Tony wanted to show him. Which, as the seconds passed, became abundantly clear – the vulnerabilities he felt in front of Peter were melting away, or not even there anymore. In all of their time together, Peter never saw Tony without his personal reservations – yet, in that moment, it looked like only the stitches of clothing stood in the way between them; mind, soul, and body.

Approaching him slowly, Peter wondered what the man’s next plan of attack was. He threw that initial curveball when they first stepped through the door, so Peter was a little off kilter, already. It wouldn’t surprise him if Tony decided to do something totally off the wall – there was precedence for it now.

Those same nimble fingers that were just playing with his own skin started to undo Peter, too – they peeled his tank top up his chest and then over his head so only clenching muscles and smooth dermis were on display. His pants came next, Tony’s fingertips took a dip under the waistband and traced the length that threatened to rip a whole through his basketball shorts. Peter felt himself pulse, his right leg twitching a bit from the uncontrollable stimulus. And when he was naked, Tony trailed all ten of his fingers over every inch of his flesh – his ticklish arches and lower back included.

After that, Peter lost track of time and reality. Tony pressed on his chest until he was scooting into the middle of the bed, his lover following him quickly. Peter let his legs splay wide to make room for Tony between them. Leaning down, Tony let the weight of his chest pin Peter down, their lips meeting in a heady kiss.

The roll of their hips would’ve been enough for Peter – Tony knew the right way to move his body to line up the pleasure sensors of their cocks and really tease the hell out of them both. Yet, the older man seemed to have another idea. He pulled away and leaned over to open the bedside drawer, lube hitting the sheets below them.

Peter moved to turn over but was stopped by a heavy hand on his chest. “I want to see you,” Tony whispered – his eyes shouting that not only did he want to see, but he also wanted to be seen.

That was the point of it all – truly being understood and viewed for everything he was, not just the man in the business suit, or the brain behind the world’s greatest defender. Each person was made up of parts and pieces, even Tony Stark. It might have taken a while, and a lot more research than Peter probably did for anything else – but, he finally got it – his eyes on Tony wasn’t just looking, anymore. The transition from glancing to seeing made a world of difference.

When Tony finally slipped inside of him, Peter kept his eyes wide open – he wanted to watch Tony lose control over the cleverly crafted walls that surrounded him. Tumbling those was Peter’s all-time goal from the very first time he watched it happen. For someone who didn’t like to be vulnerable, Tony shone so brightly through the cracks and fissures – and when he let himself go, it was a sight to behold.

\----

It took Peter 2 weeks to download, cull, and edit each of the photos that made the final cut. In a lot of ways, they were the most important photos he would ever take – each one a direct connection to the beautifully flawed pieces that made up Tony Stark. Peter marveled at his long legs and bunched up biceps, the man really did still look 20 years younger than he truly was. Each new image he pulled up and thoroughly took care of with is artistic eye unlocked something new – it seemed of the utmost importance that Tony realize that; that at the end of the album, the man knew every part of him was stunning, even the ones he didn’t have the heart to love himself.

Instead of delivering the album like he usually would, Peter brought his computer into the living room with an apprehensive Tony following closely behind him. He brought up the photo viewer and clicked the slideshow button. Peter gripped Tony’s hand tightly, his muscles clenched with anticipation. More than anything, he wanted Tony to like them – to see what Peter saw.

There weren’t any words exchanged between them during the time it took 90 images to flash across the screen. Aside from a few gasps and hard presses to his fingers, Peter had no earthly idea what Tony was thinking. After a lifetime of hiding himself away, Tony knew how to mask his emotions, even with Peter when push came to shove. He tried to bite down on his anxiousness, but it was getting harder as the seconds passed.

“Can you pull the individuals up? There are a couple I want to look at again,” Tony finally said, their eyes meeting. The color of smooth whiskey was still prominent, the usually bubbling pools of darkness weren’t there. Sucking in a breath, Peter did what he was asked and dragged the file up so each individual picture could be looked at singularly.

He made an artistic choice and kept them all in black and white – except those with the arc reactor as the focus. The blue glow of it was one of Peter’s favorite things and looked exquisite contrasting Tony’s skin – especially when he pulled all of the color from the rest of the image. It highlighted everything about the piece of tech that kept Tony alive – the shape of it, the way it settled into the depth of Tony’s chest, even the raised flesh that riddled some of the skin there.

Like he figured, all of the pictures he went back to showed the bright gleam, Tony’s eyes glued to it before he moved around again and pulled up the next one. It felt a little eerie, sitting next to a Tony that was so silent – the normal hyperactivity something Peter came to rely on.

All of the sudden, Tony stood up and strode across the room, his steps faltering when he stood in front of the long mirror he kept there. Peter watched him hesitate for a moment, then whip the AC/DC shirt he was wearing over his head. From where he was sitting, Peter could only see a bit of his lover’s reflection. Peter wondered what Tony’s face looked like in that moment – he stood completely still, the only noise in the room now the soft huff and puff of his own breathing.

A muscled arm lifted then, his elbow bending in what Peter figured was perusal of the unit on his chest. Getting up himself, Peter walked over towards Tony with measured steps. Whatever was happening seemed monumental – the last thing he wanted to do was spook Tony and ruin the moment. He stopped when Tony caught his eyes in the mirror. “It seems different somehow,” Tony admitted, his right hand tapping on the arc reactor.

Peter felt his eyes get a little misty at the statement, his feet moving on instinct to have Tony close to him – to both seek out and give comfort. His arms wrapped tightly around Tony’s chest. His hand settled on top of Tony’s, the breaks in their fingers letting the blue hue of the light shine through.

“Good – that was my hope. It’s the part of you that is saturated with terrible memories and causes pain, but also the part of you that gives you strength and enhances the greatness of your brain. It’s a small piece that keeps you alive and gives me the opportunity to show you how much you’re loved, because and despite it.” Peter finished his words with a soft kiss against Tony’s neck.

Tony turned in his arms then, the warm of his skin making the smile on Peter’s face grow – he would never get tired of the feeling of exploration touch Tony brought with it each and every time. Heavily muscled arms wrapped around Peter’s shoulders, their chests flush together. “I love you, Pete,” Tony said with a brush of his against Peter’s.

Leaning in to steal a kiss, Peter pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against Tony’s. “I love you, too. All of you, Tony. Every piece.”

And for the first time, Peter could see that Tony knew he really meant it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank for tagging along! If you want to keep up on my shorter stuff and prompt fills, head over to tumblr - I'm ohwereusingourmadeupnames over there. 
> 
> My inbox is always open and I'm always looking for good ideas to make into a reality. 
> 
> You guys are the best! <3


End file.
